At mention of this at the last Wellington SitP there was the suggestion of a road trip. This would mean a few things;

I won't have to break the bank getting there and back (shared expenses are great)

Larger turnout for the first meetup

Will probably want to hold it on the weekend so those travelling can work around jobs etc.

So, with this in mind I'd like to suggest a date. How does Saturday, November 12th sound? I have a conference that I've already paid for the weekend prior and Nov 12 falls within my recommended 4-6 weeks lead up from initial posting of the event.

Regarding times; In order to accommodate the widest number of people I'd suggest finding somewhere with a garden bar that is family friendly. Somewhere with an outdoor bbq perhaps? It'd be great to be able to start in the afternoon at a location like that so people can bring kids and partners along. Perhaps a split the day up? Start at a park and move to a bar afterwards if a suitable garden bar can't be found?

First thing though is locating the venue. So, can at least one person step up and organise that? Or, even better, the organisers could get together at some point this week and wander the streets checking out bars. :)

I thought I had a taiko gig on the 12th, but I have nothing written in my diary so I'll put in a tentative vote for that date.

Would any Hamilton folks be free this week - or indeed early next week - to meet and suss out a venue? The Cook has already been suggested, that could be good, or possibly The Bank? I know they have a garden bar out back. I don't have a comprehensive knowledge of Hamilton's pubs I'm afraid, I obviously wasn't a very good student. :P

Can one of you go in and set the event. Just set the date, title and description for the moment. We can edit the event later with the venue. Don't "announce" it just yet, but be as descriptive as you like in the description.

I'm encouraging you guys to do this so you get used to the idea that this is your meetup group and you need to drive it. :) Also, it'll let me know that I've got your roles configured correctly so you guys can run things efficiently. :)

The sooner that event is there the sooner we can start spreading the link for it around a lot more.